Macao is known for its huge casinos and lavish gaming sector. The region's economy has been heavily dependent on that sector for decades. However, as gaming has cooled over the past few years, the local government has sought to shift its focus to financial services as the next growth engine.

Government data shows that Macao's finance sector was valued at 2 trillion Macao pataca in 2018, 90% of which came from banking. Data also shows that the added value of the sector accounted for 6.5% of the region's GDP by the end of 2018.

The Macao government has rolled out several measures since 2016 to reform the financial sector. The measures include financial leasing and wealth management. Government officials say that those moves are not only aimed at serving the region's real economy, but also to accelerate the internationalization of the Chinese yuan.

As one of the four key cities in China's greater bay area, Macao is also primed to become a financial services platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Macao was one of the earliest places to have renminbi clearing business for those nations when the Bank of China Macau Branch was included in the Cross-border Interbank Payment System in 2018.  

The Chinese mainland and Macao have been joining efforts to maintain financial stability and support growth on both sides, as well as make Macao a Renminbi settlement center among Portuguese-speaking countries. China's central bank just lifted the daily remittance limit from Macao to the mainland this week. 

So every Macao resident can transfer at most 80,000 yuan or 11,000 US dollars per day into their bank accounts on the mainland. That's up from 50,000 yuan.

Earlier this month, China's central bank and Macao's monetary authority signed a currency swap deal valued at 30 billion yuan. China also issued 2 billion yuan in yuan-denominated treasury bonds in Macao in July.

Macao has many advantages as a market economy. They include a free-trade port, speedy customs clearance rules and low tax levels. But the city is also restrained by limited land area and natural resources and poor infrastructure. Aside from the financial sector, the local government is also planning to bring more investment in sectors with high added value, such as high tech, to diversify growth.

Macao's financial sector is playing a crucial role as the city pushes to restructure its economy.  The local government has also issued incentives to casino operators to test their luck in non-gaming sectors.